This invention relates to fluid suction and discharge apparatus including a cylinder block having a plurality of cylinders and pistons slidably reciprocated in cylinders, for example fluid compressors, and, in particular, to improvements of the seal between the cylinder block and the valve plate of such apparatus.
A fluid suction and discharge apparatus has been known and used in the prior art for a compressor for a refrigerant system, which comprises a cylinder block formed with a plurality of cylinders, pistons slidably reciprocated in the cylinders, a valve plate secured to the cylinder block by means such as bolts and formed with inlet openings and outlet openings in registry with the plurality of cylinders, discharge reed valve means secured to the valve plate for control of the outlet openings, and suction reed valve means secured to the valve plate for control of the inlet openings.
It is complicated in the construction and the assembling operation to secure separate suction reed valves to the valve plate correspondingly to each cylinder.
Accordingly, a single sheet of suction reed valve means formed of a metal sheet and formed with a plurality of suction reeds correspondingly to the cylinders is mounted between the cylinder block and the valve plate.
In the use of the single sheet of reed valve means, a gasket means is put and held between the cylinder block and the suction reed valve means to prevent the fluid such as refrigerant gas from leakage through the narrow gap therebetween. But no gasket can be put between the suction reed valve means and the valve plate because they must be in contact with one another. Therefore, the fluid leaks between the suction reed valve means and the valve plate.
In the application to compressors, a housing is provided surrounding the cylinder block and an O-ring is mounted between the housing and the cylinder head which is mounted on the valve plate. This construction results in an increase in the volume of the compressor. Therefore, it is undesirable in order to apply this construction to compressors for use in air-conditioning refrigerant systems such as are used in automobiles.